Over 75 cows reported dead as Lumpy Skin Disease spreads to Punjab

Deputy Director Harleen Kaur said that most of the cows in the district have been affected by the disease. She said that the Punjab government has made the medicine available to the farmers. However, the lack of doctors at the hospitals is hitting the treatment.

Moga: Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), which started in Gujarat's Kutch district, has spread to Punjab's Moga district with over 75 cows dying due to the disease so far, officials said. They said that the viral disease was from a cow shed of Badhni Kalan and subsequently killed over 75 cows. The upset cattle breeders said that on the one hand their cows are dying of the disease and on the other hand the disease is not being treated at animal hospitals.

Deputy Director Harleen Kaur said that most of the cows in the district have been affected by the disease. She said that the Punjab government has made the medicine available to the farmers. However, the lack of doctors at the hospitals is hitting the treatment. There are 54 hospitals in the Bathinda district where only 25 doctors have been posted.

Out of the 90 veterinary inspector posts, only forty inspectors are deployed on duty while the rest of the posts are vacant leaving the doctors overburdened. Sonu Arora, a local from Moga complained about lack of prior check up of the cattle by the doctors. He appealed CM Bhagwant Mann to post more doctors at the animal hospitals so that the dying cows can be saved.

Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), which started in Gujarat's Kutch district, has now spread to 20 districts of the state. With more than 1,500 cattle dead from the contagious, viral disease so far, preventive measures such as vaccination and treatment have picked up pace in the state.